Electrical connecting device



April E111, 3956 IL,- L. VERKUIL ELECTRICALCONNECTING DEVICE Filed April 11, 1947 Hun ENVENTOR Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRICAL CONNECTING DEVICE Leo L. Verkuil, Tottenville, N. Y., assignor to Ed-- wards and Company, Inc., Nor-walk, Conn., a corporation of New York Application April 11, 1947, Serial No. 740,862

2 Claims.

, 1 This invention relates to the construct-ion of electrical connecting devices such as so-called plug .COIlIlECtOIS, and to plug and socket connecting devices.

One of the objects of this invention is to pro- 1 manner and safeguard against breakage or disr "ruption during subsequent use of the installation. Another object is to provide an electrical connecting device in which the individual or separate parts are of simpe andinexpensive construction or manufacture and are capable of rapid and reliable assembly or disassembly. Another object is to provide a practcal, strong, and inexpensive plug connector construction that will be well adapted to co-act with a rece tacle construction for the intended control of circuits within the receptacle szucture. Another object is to provide a plug and receptacle type of electrical connecting device that will be well adapted to meet varying and hard conditons of practical use. improved elecrical connect ng device of the above mentioned character, and other obiects will be in part obvious or in 'part po=nted out hereafter.

The invention accordingly cons sts in the features of construction, combinations of ele ents, and arrangemen s of parts as i l be exe p ified inthe structure to be he einaf er desc ibed and the, sco e of the a ication of wh ch will be indlcated in the follow ng c aims. V

In the accompanying dra -"inmin which is illustratively shown a preferred embodiment of my invention,

, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the plug connec*or-; c

Figure 2 is a central vertical sectonal view of the plug connector, certain parts being shown in elevation, showing it also in position about to be assembled to one possible form of recentace con: struction which is shown also .in :ver t1c a1 seci certain p rts being shown in elevation;,,

Figu-e 3 is a bottom plan view of the plug aea H or, substantially as seen along the one of Figure .2; 1

Another object is in general to provide an h 6f the g tes, was the Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view as seen along the line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the receptacle construction as seen along the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a horizontal sec ional view as seen along the line G6 of Figure 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the draw- Electrical connecting devices are usua ly in the form of disconnecable plug and receptacle units to one or both of which one or more electrical conducto' s are connected, frequently in the form of a flexible insu ated cable or multiple insulated conductor sometimes 'nown as a flexible cord or flexibe cable"; a though in the accompanying drawing I have illustrated my invention with resoec to a plug-prong tyoe of connector, it is to be understood, as is later pointed out more clearly, my invention is eaually applicable to other types of connecting devices such as those employing socfiet or femae ty es of connector e e ents instead of p'ong contac's. It might also at this point be noted that, in prior types of constructions, great d fficulty is met with in adequately accommodaing numerous insulated conductors to be related to the device, particularly when they are to be handled in the form of severa cab es, and a fre uent and material disadvantage in certa n nrio" construct ons is in the lac: of he mechanica protection for the numerous conductors under the stresses and abuses of the use in actual installaton. One of the dominant ai s of this invention is to provide a simple, inex ensive and compact construction in which such disadvantages as those jus noted will be overcome in a thoroughly practical and relab e way. p

A so, in certain tvpes of p ug and receptacle connector constructions, such as those employed in hos'aital signa ing systems, it is desirable to man prov sion for activating he signalling circuits connected to the rece tac e in response to disconnection of the plug connector from the receptace connector, and a so to make provision for deactivating such signal ing ci cui s where the plug connector is intentionally removed. An-

other obiect of this invention isto provide a sim le, compact and denenciably Qacting fplug connector construction that will, in asimple and,

rem-proof manner actwith such a reset a connector, ar

when the latter is reassembled to the receptacle.

Referring to the drawing and considering first the plug connector, the latter, generally indicated by the reference character 9, preferably comprises two separable parts, one a base element I (Figure 2) which is preferably made of moldable insulating material and the other a casing element I I which can be made of any suitable material preferably non-metallic and hence also non-conductive, such as any moldable resin type of material. The base II] which can be made of short axial dimension is preferably of circular cross section and, as will presently be seen, is given a configuration which is simple and inexpensive to produce out of moldable materials like those above mentioned. It carries and supports a suitable number of conductive elements which are constructed to provide any suitable form of devices for attaching electrical conductors thereto and each to provide a connector element such as a contact with which a companion contact element may be engaged or disengaged at will; the conductor-connecting devices are preferably arranged to be accessible from the inside face of the base I0 and the contacts are arranged to be accessible from the outer or rear face and where as by way of illustration they take the form of contact prongs, they may project from and beyond suitable recesses in the base Ill.

Conveniently a unitary construction may be employed for each as is better shown in Figure 2, and each may comprise a shank I3 which is suitably embedded and anchored in the base It, and this may be achieved during the molding and curing of the latter, and where the shank I3 emerges from the base Ill through the upper or inside face I4 thereof, an upward extension I5 of the shank I3 carries a connector screw It by which the wire may be secured, and if desired, the part I5 may be provided with side wings I5 and I5 to better confine the conductor which is sometimes stranded, for proper coaction with the head of the binding screw I6.

Any desired number of such devices may be employed, preferaby by grouping them about the central vertical axis of the base Ill; in the illustrative embodiment five such devices are shown (see Figure 4). The under or outer face I8 of the base Ill may, if desired, be provided with suitable recesses I9 (Figure 2), one for each shank I3, which may be extended and shaped to give the desired configuration to form one of a pair of separable contact elements, and where as in the illustration, my device is to function as a plug unit with prongs, the shanks I3 may be extended further and beyond the recesses I9 to provide the desired number of prong-like contact elements projecting away. from the under face I8 of the base I0, as indicated at 20. The contact portions may be given any configuration and may be resilient or springy for yieldable interlocking engagement with a companion element, the springiness being effective or appropriate whether the element projects beyond the face of the base I U to form a contact prong or is only of sufficient length to be accommodated in the recess I9 to form a socket or recessed engaging contact or prong.

- In the illustrative embodiment the contact prongs 20 project-materially beyond the underface of the base I D in order to co-actwith some contacts within the rec'ptace structure which in Figure'2 'is generally indicated as a whole the referencecharacter-} and since the plug tee a er S ree wis sr iqdia t e with er ai other parts of the receptacle 30, it will be helpful first to describe an illustrative embodiment of the receptacle construction itself. The latter preferably comprises two separable parts, a lower part 3i and an upper part 32, each made of a suitable and preferably moldable insulating material. The lower part 3I comprises a base or mounting part 33 from which extend upwardly a plurality of ribs R of a cross-section as is better shown in Figure 6, terminating in an upper fiangedike portion 34, which may be square in horizontal section, to mate with the flange 35 of the upper part 32 which has a top closing wall 36 provided with a number of apertures later described, including apertures shaped and positioned to receive therethrough the plug-prongs 28 when the plug connector is assembled to the receptacle structure as by downward movement of the former reative to the latter as viewed in Figure 2. By the flanges 34 and 35 the upper and lower parts may be secured together as by bolts or screws 3'! (Figure 5) and by which also the structure may be mounted in the desired position, as in a mounting plate that otherwise closes over a wall outlet box to which the various conductors, illustratively five in number, are brought.

The parallel-walled spaces between successive ribs R (Figure 6) are extended downwardly in the form of slots in the sides of the mounting part 33 and in five of the six vertical spaces thus provided are mounted contact springs 38 which are provided with an inwardly directed bend 3'6 intermediate of their lengths and at their upper ends terminate in a V-shaped portion 38 so shaped for mechanical interlocking or interengagement with a contact prong 20 of the plug connector 9; preferably each contact spring 38 is backed up by a fiat spring 39, and each pair of springs 38-39 is secured to the mounting part 33 by a screw 4I (Figure 2) threaded into the mounting part 33 and serving also to secure in position a downwardly extending plate-like connector lug 42 provided with any suitable means such as a screw 43 for connecting a wire theretol Springs 38-39 are thus neatly accommodated in the spaces and slots between successive ribs R and the contact spring 38 preferably projects upwardly to terminate just below the top closing wall 36 which is provided with five holes 44 (Fig ure 5), one for each contact spring 38 whose upper bent end 38 norma ly is positioned just about underneath a hole 44.

The five holes 44 and the underlying five contact springs are spaced from each other by about 60, occupying an arc of about 240, and as is better shown in Figure 3 the contact prongs 20 are similarly disposed in the above-desc"ibed base ID of the plug connector so that when the latter is brought downwardly in Figure 2 on to the receptacle 30, the five prongs in their respective holes 44 and the co-acting shapes of the prongs and the contact springs 38 brings the former into mechanical interlocked relation to the latter, the springs 3839 yielding radially outwardly during this interlocking action and by their resiliency maintain the contact portions 38 in good electrical engagement with the prongs 20.

With five conductors connected to the live connectors 42-43, four signalling circuits may be e stab1ished,.one of the conductors being common to all, and by way of the conductors of a cable connectedto: theflplug p"ongs at the binding screws 15, theseacircnits may be extended to a push buttori'switch'by'which the patient can closeand which otherwise are shaped and spaced asare the ribs R above described. This metal plate 46 is so dimensioned (Figure 2) that, with the plug connector prongs removed from the receptacle, the inward bias of the contact springs 38-39 moves them radially inwardly into engagement with the plate 46, thus activating all of the signalling circuits. Replacement of the plug connector 9 causes the plug prongs again to engage the contact springs and force and hold them radially outwardly from the conductive plate 46, and such replacement of the plug conhector could be effected by the attend-ant who answered the activated signals when the. plug connector was initially removed.

It is desirable at times to remove the plug conhector and at the same time to deactivate the signalling circuits.v In such case I may employ a construction as is better shown in Figure 2 in which there is provided a cam 41 that has five cam parts 41 projecting into the spaces between the ribs R and in which the five contact springs are mounted, for coaction with the bends 38 of the contact springs. stem 48 that is slidably guided in a central hole 50 in the top wall 36 and it has a bottom stem 5| that is slidably guided in a hole 52 at the bottom of a well 53 in the mounting part 33. Stem 51 has about it a helical. spring 54 which extends into the well 53 and normally biases the entire structure 4841-5i, which may be made of molded and cured plastic, upwardly to a posi tion where the cam parts 41 are ineilective to cam or hold the contact springs outwardly out of engagement with the contact plate 46.

Accordingly if the cam is in its uppermost position, a position limited by the plate 46 or by the top wall 36, removal of the plug connector 9 permits the contact springs 38 to move inwardly and engage the contact plate 46, thus activating all of the signalling circuits.- If thereupon the cam 41 is manually depressed by pushing downwardly on the stem 48 which projects upwardly beyond the top wall 3c, the cam parts 41* are brought into engagement with the bends 38 of the contact springs and force the latter and the backing sprin s 39 radially outward y out of en-- gagement with the conductive plate 46.

Suitable means are p ovided to hold the cam in such depressed position and such means may comprise a flat sprin member 55 which is accommodated in the remaining or sixth vertical space or slot (in the 9 oclock position in Fi ures 5 and 6) where it is secured as by sc'ew 51 to the mounting part 33 (Figure 2) the spring part 55 extends upwadly beyond the top wall 36, passin through a hole 58 (Figures 2 and 5) in the latter, being bent backwardly uponitself td provide an operating part 56 and an inwardly projecting stop part 56* which coacts with an abutment 41 integrally formed with the cam 41 as an upward extension to provide a top face 41 over which the stop part 565 rides under the inward bias of the spring 56, thus to hold the The cam 41 has an upper earn structure in depressed position against. the "eifort of the compressed spring. '54. The part 41 has a vertical side face 41 along which the stop part 56 engages when the cam is in posl-' tion above that shown in Figure 2.

The activation of the signalling circuits that results from the removal of the plug connector 9 can thus be undone by manually depressing the stem 48, the vertical face 41 riding down.- ward-ly and along the stop part 56' until the top face 4'1 is brought below the level oithe stop part 56" which thereupon moves radially inwardly and thereafter holds the cam in depressed: position.

Any given signalling station may thus be made inactive and kept inactive until such time as a plug connector 9 and its associated push button switch are again to be related to the receptacle at that. station, and in the constructionv of the plug connector provision is made to insure the restoration of the parts within the receptacle for proper coaction with the plug connectorprongs and the circuits connected to the latter; For this latter purpose the base HI of the plug connector which, as is better seen in Figure 2, is preferably of substantial thickness and strength, is provided centrally, in its own face, with a recess 60 dimensionedso that; when the plug and receptacle are assembled in substantially face to face ell-'- gagement, the stem 48 can be adequately accommodated therein to the extent that the stem 48 has to project above the top wall 36 when the cam 41 is in uppermost position, a position in which the spring contacts 38-49 are freed by the cams 41 for mechanical interlocking and electrical engagement with the plug connector prongs 20, c p

As is better shown in Figure 3 and already above described. the plug connector parts illustratively the prongs 20; occupy an arcof about 240, leaving a sector-shaped space of about whose central axis extendsthrough the 9 oclock position as seen in Figure 3. In that area, and in the under face of the base i 0 is formed or provided, as by mold-- ing, a recess 6i whose center line extends along the 9 oclock radius and whose width in a circumferential direction is somewhat greater than the width of the bent-Over and curved operating part 55 of the member 55 that carries the stop part 56, the recess 6| conveniently opening into the peripheral side face of the base In and being of a depth greater than the extent to which the operating part 56 projects (Figure 2) above the top wall 36 of the receptacle. The inner end wall of the recess BI is shaped to provide a shoulder 6 I and a downwardly and inwardly inclined face 6 I, the latter being of an extent in a radial direction to contact the rounded operating part 56 as the p ug connector is moved (downwardl in Figure 2) to assemble it to the receptacle as above described, the inclination or shape of the cam surface 6| acting to resolve the acting forces downwardly (in Figure 2 into components, one of which is substantially horizontal or in a radial outward direction to thereby swing member 58 against the bias of its spring action radially outwardly (to the left in Figure 2) and thus move the stop member 56 away from engagement with the top surface 41 of the abutment 41 whence the compressed spring 54 is freed to move the cam 41 upwardly and enter the stem 48 into the rec ss 60, releasing the spring contacts 38--39, which thereupon move radially inward to interlock with the plug prongs20 which 'are by that time completely entered through the holes 44 of the top wall 36. By that time the operating part 56 has been brought sufliciently to the left in Figure 2 to become steadied against the shoulder 6| which thereafter holds the member 56 and the stop part 56* to the left of the vertical face 41 of the abutment 41. Should the plug connector 9 thereafter be removed, the spring contacts, freed from the restraint imposed upon them by the plug prongs 20, move radially inwardly to engage the conductive plate 4B, the spring contacts 'being unobstructed by the cams 41 which are in the uppermost position, a position dependably brought into being and insured by the above described operations that accompany the assembly of the plug connector to the receptacle.

The base I0 is preferably molded to have a side face III that is cylindrical for telescopic entry into the casing element II which also is preferably made of moldable insulating material and is preferably also generally round (see Figures 1, 3 and 4), being internally molded to have a cylindrical surface I I along which the base surface III slides as the base part is entered into the casing part, to the extent permitted by a shoulder I I (Figure 2) that is preferably of substantial radial di mension to form a strong ledge against which the shape (see Figure 1) where it is desired to pass therethrough two flexible cables or groups of conductors to be secured and connected to the contact elements at I5--I6. The cable or cables, with the parts I0 and II disassembled, are first passed through the hoe II of t-e casing part II, the 'connect'fons are made at the binding posts I 5--I6 in the base part I", an then the two parts I0 and II are brought t ether as above described to seat the base part I 0 against the ledge II, Preferably provi ion is made to prevent reative rotary movement between the base part III and the casing part 'II, so as not to twist up the fanned-out conductors that are accommodated in the substantial space within the assembled structure, and for this purpose I prefer to mold a slot 'or a key-way Ill in the side wall Ill at a point diametrically opposed to the region where the cam recess SI is located. That keyway III has a radial dimension equal to that of the ledge II which is interrupted by what may be termed a I -key II (Figures 2, 3 and 4) molded integrally with the casing part II.

As is better shown in Figure 3, I provide in the periphery of the under face of the base part III, as by molding, a recess 63 which is of substantial depth and substantial radial dimension, and occupies an arcuate extent of about 300", thus to terminate short of the cam recess 6| from which the ends of the arcuate recess 63 are separated by barriers Ill and Ill the under-faces of which coincide with the under face, as seen in Figure 2, of the base part III, that under face in turn being substantially coincident with the plane of the end face or edge of the casing part I I.

As is better shown in Figure 2, there is provided in the inside face II of the casing part II a groove II that is of an arcuate extent substant'ally the same as that of the recess 63, and for convenience of molding the groove II can extend throughout the entire 360 of the'wall II. Its

upper edge (Figure 2) terminates in the plane of and preferred embodiment it has a cross-section that is just about half of a circle to form a seat in which to receive a split expansible spring ring '64 which in the preferred embodiment is preferably of circular cross-section and is of an arcuate extent, as is better shown in Figure 3, somewhat less than that of the recess 63 in the bottom part II). One end E l of the spring wire 64 is bent inwardly and may be substantially straight, and one terminus of the recess 63 is widened out as at 63 (Figure 3) to an extent to give ample clearance to the bent end 64 on each side of the latter.

With this arrangement, the spring locking ring 64 can be inserted into the recess 63, whose outer 'wall or boundary is part of the inside wall II of the casing part II, by entering either end of the wire 64 first into the corresponding terminal end of the recess 63, and by compressing the ring and thus lessening its radius, it can be completely injected into the recess 63 and pressed toward the bottom of the recess 63, whence its springiness and tendency to expand enters and seats it into the side recess I I When so seated in the groove I I the base part :III is securely held within the casing part I I and the ring 64 coacts with the ledge II b to substantially uniformly distribute throughout the Periphery of the parts various thrusts to which either may be subjected during use of the plug connector,

The barriers I II and III (Figure 3) dependably prevent any such insertion of the split ring 64 as would bring any part of it into the cam recess GI, and thus the cam recess BI cannot be obstructed nor can its proper coaction with the operating part 56* (Figure 2) be interfered with. The widened terminal end I53 of the recess 63 (Figure 3) provides adequate space to accommcdate the inwardly bent end 64- of the split ring so that that end 64 is always accessible, as by the insertion of a suitable tool such as a screwdriver, into the angle between the Wall face II and the bent end I54 to compress the ring radially inwardly and thus work it out of its seat II whenever it is desired or necessary to take the plug connector apart, as, for purposes of connecti g or replacing the conductors that lead to the binding posts I5I6. Moreover the barriers I0 and I 0 aided by the recess 6|, coact with the upwardly projecting operating part 56 (Figure 2) in achieving the proper relative rotary position of the plug connector 9 with respect to the receptacle when the former is assembled to the latter.

It will thus be seen that it has been provided in this invention a construction in which the various objects above noted, together with many thoroughly practical advantages, are successfully achieved.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth, or shown in the accompanying drawing, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. An electrical connecting device comprising a plug and receptacle combination including a plug body having plug contacts and a recess in its inner face increasing in depth toward the periphery of the plug, a cap extending over the plug body and defining a space within which conductor ends may be secured to said plug contacts, and a receptacle body having a plurality of recesses for the reception of plug contacts into the receptacle recesses, a plurality of spring contacts carried by said receptacle body and respectively exposed in such recesses for engagement respectively by plug contacts entered thereinto, a spring opposed member movable within said receptacle body for controlling the position of the spring contacts of the said receptacle body, and means for locking said spring opposed member in one of its positions, said locking means having an operating member extending beyond said receptacle body and aligned with the recess in said plug body when the plug is inserted in the said receptacle whereby, upon such assembly, said operating means moves said locking member thus freeing said spring opposed member.

2. The device claimed in claim 1 wherein the said plug cap is keyed to the plug body thus preventing relative rotative movement between the plug cap and the plug body.

LEO L. VERKUIL.

10 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 921,678 De Reamer May 18, 1909 1,093,468 Peterson Apr. 14, 1914 1,115,654 De Reamer Nov. 2, 1914 1,299,926 Edwards Apr. 8, 1919 1,911,513 Kenerson May 30, 1933 2,000,318 Cannon May 7, 1935 2,030,038 Auth Feb. 25, 1936 2,032,780 White Mar. 3, 1936 2,239,035 Curtiss Apr. 22, 1941 2,312,002 Schmitt Feb. 23, 1943 2,405,735 Crockett Aug. 13, 1946 2,419,018 Gudie Apr. 15, 1947 2,425,670 Jackson Aug. 12, 1947 2,475,149 Miller July 5, 1949 

